Oct. 2009

Introduction

Does it make any difference to you whether God 'feels' or not?

The purpose of this meditation is to show some of the reasons why the existence of such feelings 'in God' should be taken seriously and should 'create feelings in us believers

Spend time meditating, thinking about the amount of time and concern God has shown you.

Each of the of the 5 arbitrarily created categories (major headings) and the illustrative verses included under those 'headings' represents a different view of, or way of looking at, God's dealings with his people. Each view adds another 'layer' of meaning to our understanding and appreciation of God's 'behavior'. Each view adds to the depth of our appreciation of God and how he has acted towards his people. Each 'layer' provides more of the answer to the question why the existence of such feelings of concern in God should be taken seriously and why the knowledge of God's promises and actions in the past should create feelings in us believers whose bodies are still living in this world. The 5 major categories under which some of the many relevant verses shown are listed below.  

1--God's concern for his people has been part of God's character since before the creation of the world. And it will never cease.
2--God's care for his people is a fundamental part of God's character and it is not affected by the behavior of believers.
3--God's promises can be counted on because he has said he would always be be with us.
4--The fullest and ultimate fulfillment of God's promises of care and blessedness becomes a total reality in the 'life' beyond the death of the body.                                         
5--The fact that the Creator-God cares about his people should affect the way every believer acts.

  1  --    GOD'S CONCERN FOR HIS PEOPLE HAS BEEN PART OF HIS CHARACTER SINCE 
           BEFORE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND WILL NEVER CEASE

It was not just yesterday that God first had feelings, concern, for his people. Concern for his people has been part of God's character since before the creation of the world. Nor has the depth of that concern of God for his children ever varied. "For he chose us in him (in Christ) before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--" (Ephesians 1:4-5; cf. Jude 1:24)

Is my desire to be obedient to God, to please God an adequate response? Is my behavior in God's eyes an adequate recognition of what God has done, is doing, and will do, for me? How do we get to know God except by hearing him speak or be described in his Word? When we have met a person many times the feeling that we know that 'person' grows stronger. Let's bring before our minds some remberances of what God has done for us. Think on these things.

• What did my God say to the 'father' of all the faithful? (Romans 4:16) What did my God say to Abram (later renamed Abraham) so many years ago--long before even Moses was born? In the first book of the Bible we read, "After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: 'Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.' " (Genesis 15:1)
  
  
• And again, to a later generation God repeated his promise. To Abram's (Abraham's) son Jacob God said: "Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham." (Genesis 26:3)
  
  
• And again, God said to Jacob at an important time in his life, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:15)
  
  
• And again, addressing Jacob God said, "I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And (your son) Joseph's own hand will close your eyes." (Genesis 46:4)
  
  
• And again, when God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush and told Moses to lead God's people out of Egypt, God said to Moses, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain." (Exodus 3:12)
  
  
• When Moses had led the Jews from Egypt to the border of the 'promised land' he said this to them: "But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 7:8)
  
  
• Many times Moses said to the Jews, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6) Do I take this to heart?
  
  
• To Moses' successor, God said, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:5)

Many times in the Old Testament God's words of encouragement spoken through his prophets and leaders were spoken in the context of the people going into battle with physical enemies or accomplishing a specific objective which God had commanded. (Psalm 44.1-3; 2 Chronicles 20:15,17)

• "David (the king) also said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.' "
  
  
• "In all their distress he (God) too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old." (Isaiah 63:9; cf. Ephesians 1:3-5; 2:4-6)

The word of God itself tells believers that it is needful, very needful, to remember how God has shown his faithfulness in times gone by. To remember, to put before one's mind how God has acted in the past is a
command. It is not something to do because you feel like it and when you feel like it; it is a command. Do it. Fill your mind with memories of how God has acted in the past.

• "Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced," (Psalm 105:5; 1 Chronicles 16:12)
  
  
• "He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate." (Psalm 111:4)
  
  
• "He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands." (Psalm 78:5-7)
  
  
• "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done." (Psalm 143:5)
  
  
• Sometime after Moses had led the Jews out of Egypt and after they had wandered about the desert for many years Moses said to them, "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 8:2-3)
  
  
• "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds." (Psalm 77:11-12)
  
  
• "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live." (Deuteronomy 4:9)
  

The more often we have met a person the more the feeling grows that we know that 'person'. Think on these things. How do we get to know God except by hearing him speak or be described in his Word? Let's bring before our minds some remembrances of what God has done for his people. And by that action to envelop ourselves with God's example and comfort as with a blanket. Would we not be motivated to show our gratefulness to a stranger who had done nothing more than save us from drowning? And God has done so much more than that! Feed on remembrances of what God has done. It was not just yesterday that God's concern for his people came into existence nor has the depth of God's concern for his children ever varied.

Does God have feelings? The long duration and repeated manifestation of God's concern for his people is one way of looking at the question 'does God have feelings?' After bringing to mind multiple examples of God's care for his people do I still feel my behavior is an adequate recognition of what God has done, is doing, and will do, for me? Does it measure up?

This has been one angle from which to view the character of God and how he cares for his people. There is a great difference between God's character and the character of believers. It is the significance of this great difference that is the next major angle from which this meditation looks at the question 'does God have feelings?'

                        2 --  GOD'S CARE FOR HIS PEOPLE IS A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF GOD'S CHARACTER
                                               AND IT IS NOT AFFECTED BY THE BEHAVIOR OF BELIEVERS

It is because God is not like us that we can count upon God's promises in his word even when the responses of human beings do not measure up. It is because--unlike us believers whose behavior is not consistent in every respect--the character and power of God is consistent and unchanging that believers can count upon God's promises in his word even when the responses of human beings do not measure up.

(There is mystery here to our way of thinking: If God's promises are certain of fulfilment regardless of the actions/behavior of believers then the thought seems inevitable--'why bother paying attention to the commands and standards of God?) Yet God in his impenetrable wisdom has chosen to fill his written revelation (his Bible) with commands and instructions regarding holy living. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament are packed with both obvious and more indirect commands and instructions on holy living. (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Peter 3:10-12) Obedience to God's commands is not conditional! That we encounter what our puny minds may conclude are logical inconsistencies in God's word is no excuse to disregard any command of God. His command is 'Be holy, because I am holy' (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). Obedience to God's commands is what pleases God, not the resolution of possible questions of logic which human beings find upsetting. (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33)

Now back to the issue: the unfaithful behavior of believers does not undermine or upset the power of God to be true to his promises. Listen to God's words--

• "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone." (Ezekiel 36:22)
  
  
• The 'friends' of the prophet Daniel whose lives were in great danger from the King because of their previous faithful witness, said to the King of Babylon, "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king." (Daniel 3:17)
  
  
• Jesus said, "just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." (John 10:15)
  
  
• What could be clearer than Jesus' declaration to his disciples? "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (John 15:16)
  
  
• "God presented him (Jesus Christ) as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—" (Romans 3:25)
  
  
• "Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." (Romans 4:8)

The absence of proper, faithful, behavior by believers did not, and does not now, alter the character of God or the truth of God's promises. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" (Romans 5:6-10)

• "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." (Romans 8:11)
  
  
• "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified." (Romans 8:28-30)
  
  
• The Bible says it was Jesus Christ "who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:14)
  
  
• "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit," (Titus 3:4-5)
  
  
• "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9)
  
  
• "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." (Hebrews 9:14-15)
  
  
• "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10)
  
  
• "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man, " (Romans 8:3)
  
  
• "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the
  jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Selah" (Psalm 3:5-8)
  
  
• "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit," (1 Peter 3:18)
  
  
• "But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin." (1 John 3:5)
  
  
• "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." (1 John 3:1)
  
  
• "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; do not abandon the works of your hands." (Psalm 138.8)
  
  
  

3 --  GOD'S PROMISES CAN BE COUNTED ON BECAUSE
      HE HAS SAID HE WOULD ALWAYS BE WITH US

Not only has God 'been there' throughout history but he has said he would always be with us. Looking at God's words of promise is another way of looking at and feeding upon (bringing to mind) God. Always. Always. God said to believers, he would always be with us. Stated in a different way we might say, 'God's words, God's declarations, of perpetual care are not conditional and they have no expiration date.'

• "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23:6)
  
  
• "God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' 6 So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
  
  
• "Then Jesus came to them (his disciples) and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them ....20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.' " (Matthew 28:18-20)
  
  
• "I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side. Arise, O Lord! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Selah" (Psalm 3:5-8)
  
  
• Joshua, the successor of Moses, who had come out Egypt with the Jews and now was an old man made this awesome statement to the people of God inwhich he summed God's unceasing and everlasting faithfulness in these words: "Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed." (Joshua 23:14)
  
  
• Words are important, especially God's words. What does God say to believers? "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,' declares the Lord." (Isaiah 54:17; cf. 2 Corinthians 10:4)

Of course, God's fulfillment of promises which we can see are in the past because those fulfillments happened in the past. While it is true that some fulfillments of God's promises are in the past while other fulfillments are in the future but the 'fulfiller' of the promises which have already been fulfilled and the fulfiller of the promises which have not yet been fulfilled is the same--the Almighty God. In a sense it is not the promise that we depend upon but the 'fulfiller' of the promise. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)

• "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19)
  
  
• What command do we hear from God in the New Testament: "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed." (1 Peter 1:13)
  
  
• "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31.6)
  
  
• Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you
  must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deuteronomy 31:7-8)
  
  
• "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)
  
  
• "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not I will not forsake them." (Isaiah 42:16)

While we believers can count on the unending faithfulness of the Almighty God, he knows the power of sin and our ability and character too well to count on us. (Romans 7:21-23)

• "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32)
  
  
• "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." (1 John 4:9)
  
  
• "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ:" (Jude 1:1)
  
  
  
  
  
                                          4  --  THE FULLEST AND ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT OF GOD'S PROMISES OF CARE AND BLESSEDNESS   
                                                  BECOMES A TOTAL REALITY IN THE 'LIFE' BEYOND THE DEATH OF THE BODY

Don't look for this world which is full of sin, evil, injustice etc. to turn into a world without sin, without evil, without injustice, to turn into a world of peace, light, and prosperity. The Bible is very explicit. In this world believers are told to expect tribulation. (Acts 14.22; 1 Thessalonians 3:3; 2 Timothy 3:12)

It is in the 'world', in the 'life', beyond the death of the body that the fullest and ultimate fulfillment of God's promises of care and blessedness for his people takes place.

• "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;" (Job 19:25-26)
  
  
• "you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay." (Psalm 16:10) While this verse refers to Jesus the Christ other verses in the Bible clearly show that all believers are identified with the Christ (Romans 8:17; Ephesians 3:6) and were raised with him (Colossians 2:12; 3:1), participated in his resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:5, 6)
  
  
• "Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him." (Isaiah 64:4)
  
  
• The calamities that believers experience in this world are no obstacles to God. "But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they willnot sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you, and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west." (Isaiah 43:1-5; cf. Matthew 10:29-10; 1 Peter 1:7)
  
  
• God's last words to Daniel the prophet--"As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance." (Daniel 12:13)
  
  
• What were Jesus' final words to his apostles--"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
  
  
• Jesus said to his disciples that had returned from their missionary journey-- "I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." (Luke 10:19) but the miraculous power Jesus had bestowed upon these disciples in this world was not the greatest gift Jesus had bestowed upon them. Jesus' statement continued, "but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10.20)
  
  
• "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
  
  
• "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." (1 Corinthians 15:50)
  
  
• "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." (1 Corinthians 15.19)
  
  
• Could the meaning of Jesus' words spoken to the religious leaders of the Jews (and by an obvious extension to all human beings on earth--who have not been born from above) be any clearer? "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world." (John 8:23)
  
  
• "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." (John
  10:28-29)
  
  
• "Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;" (John 11:25)
  
  
• "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." (John 14:2-3)
  
  
• "So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of
  God." (1 Corinthians 3:21-23)
  
  
• "Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence." (2 Corinthians 4:14)
  
  
• "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.... For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:1, 4)
  
  
• "So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;" (1 Corinthians 15:42)
  
  
• "For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life." (2 Corinthians 5:4)
  
  
• "In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:52)
  
  
• "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ," (Philippians 3:20)
  
  
• In a letter the apostle Paul wrote to almost the first congregation of believers in Europe he had ever witnessed in the apostle reported what he had heard about that congregation, "They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." (1 Thessalonians 1:10)
  
  

While the coming of the savior is in the future, the redemption of believers from the power of sin has already taken place. In the book of Colossians we are told about the action of God:  13 "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves." (Colossians 1:13) We give thanks for what God has already done--"joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. " (Colossians 1:12) The transformation of believers' bodies into new creatures* that will never perish has already taken place. God says, ¹⁷ "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17) Believers are immortal creatures now! 

• "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8) 
  
  
• "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:28)
  
  
• "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. "(Hebrews 13:14)
  
  
• God says what lies ahead for believers-- "who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:5)
  
  
• God says what lies ahead for believers-- "and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:11)
  
  
• "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he (the Christ) appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (1 John 3:2)
  
  
• "We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." (1 John 5:19-20)

Many statements in the Bible have a dimension about them that challenge the imagination and understanding. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." ..."I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." (John 3:3-6) In the same way that only dogs have the ability to smell drugs, or dead bodies in the ground, only believers, only God's new creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17) have the ability to 'see' the continuous presence of the 'other-worldly' realities in the words of God set forth in the Bible. (But, as the apostle Paul said, even what believers 'see' now will only be clear in that world 'beyond death'--1 Corinthians 13:9-10)

• To the believers at Colossae the apostle Paul addresses these words: "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:3-4)
  
  
• "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death." (1 John 3:14)
  
  
  
  
  
  

5 --  THE FACT THAT THE CREATOR-GOD CARES ABOUT HIS PEOPLE
         SHOULD AFFECT THE WAY EVERY BELIEVER ACTS

The fact that God cares should affect the way every believer acts. Is this knowledge affecting you? Does the thought motivate you?

• "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 
  8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deuteronomy 31:6-8)
  
  
• "Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 'Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.' " (Psalm 46:8-10)
  
  
• How often the word of God tells believers why they should be confident! 
  "I lift up my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. 
  3 He will not let your foot slip--he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
  5 The LORD watches over you--the LORD is your shade at your right hand; 6 the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
  7 The LORD will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; 8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore." (Psalm 121:1-8)
  
  
• The Lord says, "I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass," (Isaiah 51:12)
  
  
• "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful
  and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." (Luke 6:35-36)
  
  
• "I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." (Luke 16:9)
  
  
• "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)
  
  
• I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (the non-Jew)" (Romans 1:16)
  
  
• God speaks of where in God's purpose and plan God has positioned believers because of the accomplishment of Jesus Christ, saying,  "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2)
  
  
• "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13)
  
  
• "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)
  
  
• The Bible speaks of Abraham, saying, "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Hebrews 11:9-10)
  
  
• "For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." (Hebrews 13:14)
  
  
• "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)
  
  
• "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 'He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.' When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for
  righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:21-24)
  
  
• "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin." (1 Peter 4:1)
  
  

• "However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." (1 Peter 4:16)

All people live in the 'world' God created but only believers know that the physical world which they see around them now is not their ultimate home. Therefore the apostle Peter says to believers, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives... 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness." (2 Peter 3:10-13; cf. Hebrews 11:10,13-16)

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Does it make any difference to you whether God has feelings or not? It should. If you believe in him can you be indifferent to how he feels and what he sees in you (in me)?

We have looked at many reasons why the existence of such 'feelings' in God should be taken seriously and why the existence of such feelings in God should 'create feelings in us believers'.

1-- It was not just yesterday that God's concern for his people came into existence. It has been part of God's character since before the creation of the world and will never cease
2-- God's care for his people is part of God's being/character and is not a response to the behavior of believers. The unfaithfulness of believers does not raise any doubts about God's promises or faithfulness.
3-- God's promises can be counted on because he has said he would always be with us; God's declarations of perpetual care have no expiration date.GLIMPSES OF GOD AND HIS WAYS
4-- The fullest and ultimate fulfillment of God's promises of care and blessedness become a total reality in the 'life' beyond the death of the body.
5-- The fact that God has shown his concern and care over and over again should affect the way believers act.; it should increase their confidence in the promises of God regarding the future which God controls. (2 Peter 3:13)

If God went to the trouble of calling you out of darkness and sending his Son to take the penalty that you (I) deserved are his wishes unimportant? Does God have feelings? Does the rememberance of what he has done
and what he has promised to do move and motivate you to walk more in those ways which he says please him?

While the depth of God's concern for his children has never varied is my desire to please God just as steady and pure? Do I really care about what God sees in my mind and heart? Do I really care what he thinks about what he sees?

• "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
  
  
• "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!" (Romans 5:8-10)
  
  
• "God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' 6 So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?' " (Hebrews 13:5-6)  (How often does this thought control your/my thinking?)
  
  
• "Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." (Romans 8:34)
  
  
• "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, n neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38) God is faithful and can be counted upon to keep his promises to believers even when believers are not faithful.
  
  
• "To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—" (Jude 24)
  
  
• "So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God." (1 Corinthians 3:21-23)
  
  
• "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:31-32)
  

The hymn (O God, Our Help in Ages Past) says it well,

Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame,
From everlasting Thou art God,
To endless years the same.

 'Our God, our help in ages past,
 Our hope for years to come,
   Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.'

         Under the shadow of Thy throne
         Thy saints have dwelt secure;
         Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
        And our defense is sure.

God's word (the Bible) describes God's plan/actions from eternity past to eternity future: "And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:30-32)  All the actions of God in this verse are all spoken of in the past tense. There is no such thing as 'future' to God. But believers living on earth are more limited and can only think of events as being either in the past, in the present, or in the future. It is so good to know our present and our future is in 'his hands'....

(If you appreciate what you read here please tell your friends about this URL and sign my guestbook on the homepage. Also, if, as you read any of the meditations, you feel you know of a situation that beautifully illustrates any of the points made I would be delighted to learn of it. I might incorporate it.) mailto:camppp21355@comcast.net

If you wish to pursue your own study on issues (thoughts) raised or on the Scripture verses used try these links: The Goshen Bible Study Tools or Translate 2012 Bible Study Tools. An additional translation with many notes can be found at Net Bible. To search for recent related sermons, sermon outlines, articles, devotions and topical sermons go here: Sermon Links.com

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